Photographer's Note

After ascending the highest pass on the Inca Trail (Dead Woman's Pass, or Warmiwañusa in Quechua) I was sitting at the ruins of Runkurakay temple when a light drizzle started.

It only lasted for about 10 minutes, but it left behind this enormously arching rainbow that covered the entire vista.

It sounds sort of silly, but it was a spine tingling, encouraging site after just completeling the most challening part of the Inca trail.

The dip in between the two mountains, in the top center of the photo, is the pass itself, situated at 3800 meters (13,780 feet). This is where you have to climb to on the second day of hiking the Inca trail. This is the second day's hike and the entire day is almost entirely uphill.

If you look just below the rainbows right side, you'll see the Inca trail itself. It's a descending diagonal line. The top portion looks green, the lower part leading to the campsite is brown. The camp site is one of the largest on the Inca trail, Paqaymayu.